Can Brands Twist & Contort Their Way into Everyone's Heart... and Still Be Unique?

Welcome to another edition of #MeaningfulMarketingMessages!

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Let's get into today's topic.

To kick things off, I'm going to make an assertion that I believe is true for everyone. And then see if/how we may apply that to Brands.

Ready?

"If you try to be all things to all people, you'll end up being 'nuttin for nobody.'" Carolyn Permentier

I've come to realize that some people will like who I am, and what I stand for. And some won't.

That is, if I actually stand for something. And if I do, it doesn't matter if a million people disagree with me.

My first responsibility is to be TRUE to myself. Everything else flows out of that.

Applying this to Brands...

If a Brand tries to be all things to ALL consumers, it'll end up being so watered-down, so convoluted that it will lose anything remotely resembling 'special, unique, or one-of-a-kind.'

This 'Look Alike' Brand will look and act the same as every other brand that's also trying to appeal to (or appease?), everyone at the same time.

The result?

Homogenous.

These brands all look, act, and sound alike. No differentiation that makes a tinker's damn bit of difference.

In my opinion, most Brands, most of the time fall into the 'look alike' category.

I think (as do some other contrarians) that one of the reasons, if not the main one, is that Brands zip, dart, twist, and contort based on the whims of consumers.

Sometimes they even ASK consumers (or customers) what they think, what they want, or even what they think about the 'Brand.'

Really?

They really think that people sit around, trying to 'articulate' what they think/feel about a Brand?

And then Brands set out to literally CHANGE whatever they determine will help them appease consumers (or customers).

All based on what those queried 'said' they thought/felt about a Brand.

Just today, I read a post on Linkedin from a very knowledgeable-sounding, high-level marketing executive.

This person was talking about the importance of proper positioning — and how brands might consider asking a sample number of their customers ONE question:

"What does our Brand mean to YOU?"

No questions about the products or services offered or the customer service, etc.

No, this one question was to find out how these customers perceived the Brand.

And, then he suggests ways for Brands to compare the responses to their strategic plan's positioning statement (or wherever it's housed) to see how/if they need to change their positioning.

A few observations... if it's a B2B Brand, I'd only want their opinion of my Brand to be that it is trustworthy.

And dependable, reliable, and that my customer service (or tech) is second to none.

And I should already know that, anyway.

What other opinions matter, really?

I don't know, call me simple-minded. But I like simple.

The most profound things are simple — not complex or convoluted.

In a Previous Article...

I wrote an article on April 11, 2024 titled: Understanding Behavioral Science & Neuroscience is Imperative for Brands.

In it, I talk about how Behavioral Science bears out that most people's decisions are made, based on unconscious motivations.

And what a consumer says is important may actually have nothing to do with the REAL reason they said it.

And I quoted David Ogilvy's 'mic-drop' comment about market research, which every marketer should sticky-tape to the top of their monitor to be read daily:

“People don't think what they feel, don't say what they think, and don't do what they say.”

A Few Brands That Defy the 'Consumer-Led' Crowd...

Let's look at a few Brand stories that defied the notion of being consumer-led, and insisted on being Brand-led.

1.???? Steve Jobs' introduction of the iPhone to the world in 2007.

No consumer research, focus groups, or creative committee to cloud his vision.

He just knew.

And today, many millions continue to prove him right.

Some will want a Brand's offering. Some won't.

But if Brands stay true to their vision, and produce a superior product, they'll attract the ones who want it. Just say...

"Here we are. Here's what we do better than anyone else. Would you like to buy some?" Carolyn Permentier

2. IKEA's success story is another example that defies ALL consumer-led theories.

IKEA's founder, Ingvar Kamprad, was obsessed with frugality, even though he was one of the wealthiest people in the world.

It was his Swedish utilitarianism that shaped the company's identity of functional design at an affordable price.

IKEA delivers low-cost design, while steadfastly remaining true to its Brand... instead of being 'customer-centric.'

The whole shopping experience could even be described as strenuous, and often frustrating.

You have to get in your car, drive a gazillion miles, usually. Fight a throng of people to score a parking spot.

Then follow the arrows on the warehouse floor, as you must go through the maze to ALL departments.

Finally arriving at the only department you're interested in (with many other things in your basket you didn't come for), you look around for some help, but there's no one to be found.

"OK, we're here, so we'll just make do. Honey, did you pick up one of those handy-dandy measuring tapes at the entrance?"

"No."

Uh-oh... out of luck.

So they do the best they can, eye-balling dimensions, and trying to make sense of the scant information on the tags.

"We need help. Anyone with a blue vest around? Oh, there's one."

"Miss, can we get some help here? Do you have a measuring tape we could borrow?"

"No, they're only at the entrance," she said. "But here's a pencil, if that'll help!"

Yikes.

"OK, I think this will fit. Let's write down the product number and isle number, and we'll go pick it up, when we finally get through the rest of the maze."

They finally arrive at the ginormous area where everything is stored, locate their item, as the hero climbs (though not allowed) to retrieve it.

Finally, they head for the check-out.

Good thing they only needed one thing, as they have to bag all of the other, smaller items they didn't need, but picked up along the way.

Of course, they had to pay for the bags they used.

And then, the rest of the story is the reverse of how it all began — a mere 5 hours ago!

Only this time, hubby gets to assemble the 'stylish, yet affordable,' Swedish chest.

Don't worry, though, IKEA's provided the perfect screws for you. (Wonder if there's a subtle message there?)

But they'll likely repeat this crazy routine next time they want to be humiliated at IKEA.

But there's always the Swedish Meatballs!

Yet IKEA's success is because of, not despite, the challenging shopping experience.

In Adam Ferrier's book, "Stop Listening to the Customer: Try Hearing Your Brand Instead, he has this to say:

"IKEA gets my vote for the least consumer-driven brand in the world. The Swedish behemoth seems to take pride in making the shopping experience as difficult as possible. Not only that, it forces consumers, after purchasing their products, to construct the items themselves."

So how can a company, offering a grueling shopping experience, attract so many customers... and continue to be uber-successful?

It's the Effort Paradox

Marketers and Brand Builders often talk about the need to reduce effort or friction. They want to make things easy-peasy for their customers.

This is valid.

But the opposite is also valid. Apparently, we humans sometimes make choices precisely 'because' of effort.

Whattt??

A research paper titled, 'The Effort Paradox: Effort is both costly and valued,' reveals that contrary to the view that humans avoid tasks that involve effort, the opposite is also true.

Effort can add value.

Who'd a thunk it?

In Conclusion...

The insight that consumers feel rewarded from exerting effort would not have been uncovered, by asking consumers what they thought, or from a consumer mapping journey.

"IKEA, like Apple, will go down in history as the least consumer-centric brand in the world." Adam Ferrier

These are two examples of extremely successful Brands the don't rely on consumer/customer research.

I understand that Nike doesn't rely much on research, either, and they seem to sell a lot of shoes.

In 1998, Steve Jobs said in Businessweek:

"It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them."

I think he proved his point with both the Mac and the iPhone, don't you?

Back to the title of this article, "Can Brands Twist & Contort Their Way Into Everyone's Heart.. and Still Be Unique?"

I don't think so.

Consumers are fickle. We really don't know what we want until we see it (like Steve Jobs said).

And not even EVERYONE wants an iPhone! And that's OK.

If any of us responded to a question, intending to be as honest as possible, it would ONLY be what 'occurred' to us in the moment.

I think it's the job of Brands to solidly take a stand. And to...

DECIDE what you are

BE who you are.

SAY what you do.

DELIVER your best product/service at a fair price to your target audience.

EXPECT you will attract the people who will want what you sell.

What's the result, if you try to please everyone?

You'll end up being nuttin' for nobody.

As always, thanks for reading!

I love your amazing comments and 'likes.'

And please 'repost' to your network, if you feel they may find it useful or may get a good laugh. (LI algos like that a lot.)

If you're a marketer, CMO, or CEO and think you could benefit by enlisting a fractional contrarian for a spell... reach out.

Yours in Success,

Carolyn

?#KickAssCopywriter